Mobily, Zain arbitration to take ‘at least’ three months: Report

Arbitration between Saudi Arabia’s telecom operators Mobily and Zain will take at least three months unless one of the two companies decides to waive the appeal to settle their debt issues, according to a report published by Mecca newspaper.

Mobily, the kingdom’s second-largest telecom operator, appealed for arbitration on Tuesday about money it claims it is owed by its smaller competitor Zain Saudi, according to Argaam.

In 2008, Mobily signed an agreement with Zain Saudi, an affiliate of Kuwait’s Zain, to provide services including domestic roaming and site sharing. Consequently, the company owed Mobily SAR 2.2 billion. 

Mobily, however, said it received irregular payments from Zain.

Zain claimed it paid Mobily on time and that it currently owes the company SAR 13 million, according to its unaudited records.